Walter Hartwell “Walt” White is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American television drama series Breaking Bad on AMC. He is portrayed by Bryan Cranston and was created by series creator Vince Gilligan. Once a promising chemist who was one of the founding members of the fictional “Gray Matter Technologies”, Walter left the company for personal reasons and became an unhappy and disillusioned high school chemistry teacher. After being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, he resorts to manufacturing methamphetamine to ensure his family’s financial security when he dies. As the series progresses, Walter gradually grows villainous and dangerous.

Although AMC officials hesitated to cast Cranston due to his previous comedic role on Malcolm in the Middle, Gilligan cast him based on the actor’s past performance in an episode of The X-Files. Cranston has contributed to much of his character, including Walter’s back story, physical appearance and personality traits. Gilligan had described his goal with Walter White as turning Mr. Chips into Scarface, and has deliberately made the character less and less sympathetic.

Both the Walter White character and Bryan Cranston’s performance have received critical acclaim. Cranston has won three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the second actor ever to do so and the first since Bill Cosby for I Spy in the 1960s.

Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels, the first of which is titled A Game of Thrones. The series is filmed at Paint Hall Studios in Belfast, as well as on location elsewhere in Northern Ireland and in Malta, Croatia, Iceland and Morocco.

The first season debuted in the U.S. on April 17, 2011. Two days later, it was picked up for a second season, which began airing on April 1, 2012. Nine days later, it was picked up for a third season.

Highly anticipated since its early stages of development, Game of Thrones has been very well received by viewers and critics. Season 1 was nominated for or won numerous awards, including Outstanding Drama Series for the Emmy Awards and Best Television Series – Drama at the 69th Golden Globe Awards. As Tyrion Lannister, Peter Dinklage won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

The cable television series closely follows the multiple storylines of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and author Martin has stated that the show’s pilot script was very faithful to his work. Set in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, Game of Thrones chronicles the violent dynastic struggles among the kingdom’s noble families for control of the Iron Throne; as the series opens, additional threats from the snow and ice covered region north of Westeros and from the eastern continent across a narrow sea are simultaneously beginning to rise.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (also known as CSI or less commonly, CSI: Las Vegas) is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It is filmed primarily at Universal Studios in Universal City, California.

The series follows Las Vegas criminalists (identified as “Crime Scene Investigators” working for the Las Vegas Police Department instead of the actual title of “Crime Scene Analysts” and “Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department”) as they use physical evidence to solve grisly murders in this unusually graphic drama, which has inspired a host of other cop-show “procedurals”. The series mixes deduction, gritty subject matter and character-driven drama. The network later added spin-offs CSI: Miami and CSI: NY.

CSI has been recognized as the most popular dramatic series internationally by the Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo, which has awarded it the “International Television Audience Award (Best Television Drama Series)” three times. CSI’s worldwide audience was estimated to be over 73.8 million viewers in 2009. In 2011, CSI is the most watched drama series in the world, again.

CSI has been nominated multiple times for industry awards and has won nine awards during its history. The program has spawned several media projects including an exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, a series of books, several video games, and two additional TV shows. It has reached milestone episodes, such as the 100th, “Ch-Ch-Changes”, the 150th, “Living Legend”, which starred Roger Daltrey from The Who, the 200th, “Mascara”, airing on April 2, 2009, and the 250th, “Cello and Goodbye”, airing May 5, 2011.

Internationally, broadcasts of the show are popular. Show creator Anthony Zuiker said in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, “The running joke really is that “CSI” airs in every country but six: North Korea, Uzbekistan, Iran, Iraq, and a couple of others I probably can’t even name.”

For the 2001 season, CBS decided to move CSI, along with the reality series Survivor, to Thursday night, ending NBC’s long dominance of these television hours. CBS became the most watched network on American television, with CSI being the most watched program on television for the 2002–2003 TV season, and the most watched scripted show for five consecutive seasons, from the 2002–2003 season through the 2006–2007 season.

The show aired its 250th episode on May 5, 2011. On May 18, 2011, CBS was renewed the series for a twelfth season, moving it to Wednesdays. Ted Danson joined the series, playing the new night-shift team supervisor.

n the fictional Macross Japanese anime series and its English adaptation Robotech, the first mass-produced variable fighter (Macross) or veritech fighter (Robotech) is called the VF-1 Valkyrie.

The VF-1’s Fighter mode is its basic mode and is the typical mode employed when the craft is parked at a military base and is the primary mode used in high altitude aerial combat planetside and in space combat.

In this mode, it features a basic fuselage similar to the real-world F-14 Tomcat jet fighter, including underslung intakes and variable-sweep wing, but with outward-canted vertical stabilizers similar to the F/A-18 Hornet’s, swiveling under-wing hardpoints (last seen on the F-111 Aardvark, Su-24 Fencer, and Panavia Tornado), and a total lack of tailplanes. It is armed with 1, 2, or 4 (depending on model) Mauler RÖV-20 laser cannons mounted on a ventral turret, a GU-11 55 mm three-barrelled gun pod holding 200 rounds, four underwing hardpoints holding up to twelve medium-range AMM-1 missiles, twelve MK-82 LDGB bombs, six RMS-1 large anti-ship reaction missiles or four UUM-7 micro-missile pods containing up to 15 Bifors HMM-01 “micro-missiles”. Like most of the VF-1’s nomenclature, the “GU” and “AMM” designations of its weapons are references to current US military designations (GPU for Gun Pod Unit and AIM for Air Intercept Missile).

In fighter mode the VF-1’s thermonuclear engines and the several vernier rockets on its fuselage make it capable of operating as an aerospace fighter. It can reach a maximum speed of Mach 3.87 at high altitude (above 30,000 metres), and Mach 2.71 at medium altitude (10,000 metres). Its wings, similar to those of the F-14 Tomcat, sweep between 20 degrees back and 72 degrees back. Unlike the F-14, the wings can sweep 90 degrees back for storage, with the tail module folding up over the fighter’s back. Although the VF-1 technically has an unlimited service ceiling and atmospheric range (since it can operate in space), the VF-1’s internal tanks cannot carry enough propellant to achieve a stable orbit and needs the help of a booster pack to reach Low Earth Orbit.

While in fighter mode, the VF-1 can also be equipped with a FAST Pack space booster and weaponry system. This system vastly improves the speed and survivability of the fighter as well as giving it access to extra ammunition.

Fighter mode has two sub-modes:

– In atmospheric mode the engine air intakes are open; wings geometry is flexible.
– In space mode the engine air intakes are closed. Wings remain extended but fixed due to
the presence of vernier thrusters on the wing tips, and wing-carried ordinance.

The shield that covers the cockpit in Battroid mode is usually absent, except on pilot’s request for use as a heat shield, for example in case of atmospheric re-entry.

The final of the four minor VF-1 variants, the VF-1S carries the heaviest weapon load of the standard variable fighter. Manufactured only in limited numbers, Northrom also enlisted Kyuusei Industry to design a new head unit for their own variant. The VF-1S mounts four of the Mauler series RÖV-20 anti-aircraft laser cannons and enjoys several upgrades in addition to firepower. The engines are improved Shinnakasu Heavy Industry/P&W/Roice FF-2001D models resulting in measurably improved thrust and an enhanced avionics package is featured in each VF-1S. While usually reserved for CAGs (Commander of Air Group), the VF-1S also sometimes finds itself serving as the variable fighter for a squadron leader much like the VF-1J. Captain Roy Focker piloted a VF-1S during his command of the infamous Skull Squadron.